Landschap met een beek c. 1901 - 1927

Johan Antonie de Jonge made this landscape with what looks like charcoal, or maybe a very soft pencil. See how the marks are almost scribbled in short, energetic lines, all layered on top of each other? I can imagine him outside, maybe the wind is blowing. There's something really immediate about the drawing. The strokes are less about detail, and more about capturing a feeling, or an impression. I wonder if he was thinking about the work of other landscape artists, like the Impressionists. Look at the way the marks build up to create a sense of depth, especially in the trees. Those repeated gestures kind of remind me of Cy Twombly. It's like De Jonge is in conversation with all these other artists, across time and space, each one learning from and building upon what came before. It's a beautiful, messy conversation.